Enrolment drive for out-of-school special kids in Delhi

Apart from identifying such children in nearby localities, the enrolment drive will rope in students of government schools, teachers and parents.

The inclusive education branch (IEB) of the Directorate of Education on Wednesday announced guidelines for an enrolment drive to be conducted in August for out-of-school children with special needs.

Directorate of Education on Wednesday announced guidelines for an enrolment drive to be conducted in August for out-of-school children with special needs. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Officials said the drive would help in identifying children with special needs (CWSN) who haven’t been attending school due to financial constraints, lack of awareness and accessibility.

Apart from identifying such children in nearby localities, the enrolment drive will rope in students of government schools, teachers and parents.

A rally of 100 students —who will be peers of CWSN—will also be organised in each zone by District Coordinators (lEB). Heads of schools and special education teachers have been asked to ensure the safety of CWSN students if they too are participating in the rally.

“Routine surveys to identify such children under Samagra Shiksha are conducted every year by resource persons and other officials. But this decision involves specific intervention such as rallies and dissemination of posters at the school level,” said Ajay Kumar Singh, the state coordinator for Inclusive Education Branch.

“The idea is to approach different stakeholders in communities and see if they know any CWSN who need to be admitted to schools. If they know families living nearby who have special children, they could make them aware of the facilities available in schools, encouraging them to join.”

As per a Delhi court order in 2009, children with disabilities are considered for admission at any time during the academic year and cannot be denied admission in any government and aided schools under DOE, and in the schools under municipal corporations, New Delhi Municipal Council and Delhi Cantonment Board.